Fighting for peace, is like f***ing for chastity

As infants, our first victory comes in grasping some bit of the world, usually our mother's fingers. Later we discover that the world, and the things of the world, are grasping us, and have been all along.

Some of this book—perhaps too much—has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it—and perhaps the best of it—is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.

Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.

If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.

If you don't control your temper, your temper will control you.

The book is not the important part. The book is the delivery system. The important part is the story and the talent.